Election day was warm and sunny. Near polling booths in bars and cafes beer flowed as on a special holiday. High on the Zugspitze vacationers took time to vote, and from Baltic beaches bathers ambled inland to cast their ballots. "It does not really make much difference who wins," said a German in Marburg, "as long as there is a big turnout."
The turnout was hearteningly big. Nearly 80% of West Germany's voters went to the polls. When all the ballots were counted, Konrad Adenauer's Christian Democrats were ahead with 7,357,579 votes and 139 out of 402 seats in the...
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